Variables
by DB-Explorer
Summary: Like a butterfly's wings causing a hurricane the effects of a simple change can be long and far reaching- changes that drastically shift NERV's focus and the war against the angels.
1. Prolouge: A red letter day

For all of the organization's technical wizardry Kaworu Nagisa couldn't help but compare the industrial lift he was currently riding in to something from a coal mine. The dozen other NERV workers and technicians in the lift, all in blue overalls similar to his own outfit, did not notice the pale lock of hair he tucked back under the hat that hid it from more observant electronic eyes. For their part the others in the lift never even noticed the new addition to the now routine trip into the hangers that held the organization's fighting machines. Why would they? He thought to himself, he was just another in the hundred score of people that worked to maintain what NERV called Evangelions.

The idle chatter that had filled the lift ceased as the red giant that was Unit two filled the came into view, the open design of the lift giving a full panorama of the cage the both stored and restrained it. The trip down may have been one of routine for most in the lift but the sight of something twice the size of the Brandenburg gate was always able to cause a pause. Especially when one knew it could move about as easily as a normal man, like the men that currently swarmed around the red giant as they prepared the facilities newest arrival.

As the lift came to a halt and workers flowed out toward Unit 2, the albino deigned not to follow the flow and proceeded toward the purple behemoth on the other end of the hanger bay. It was a victim of its own success today, as his own benefactors had been alarmed at its victories. NERV, they had decided, needed to be hindered- as task they had convinced to be best left in his hands.

The fools, he smirked, the lot of them.

The Evangelion stood stoic as he approached, its inert form not reacting to his presence as he stopped in front of its towering head. He raised his hand toward it and his smirk broke out into a smile has the machine reacted. Unit One's eyes glowed and threw its head back against the restraints. "Rise and shine Mrs. Ikari." He spoke as if talking to an old friend, even as alarms began to blare. "Not that I wish to imply you have been sleeping on the job - No-one is more deserving of a rest, And all the effort in the world would have gone to waste until... well, let's just say your hour has come again." Kaworu ignored the crowd swarming toward the exits, only noting it as a way to cover his exit from the base. "The right person in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world. So, wake up, Mrs. Ikari - Wake up and smell the ashes." Kaworu Nagisa stepped back as Unit One went truly berserk.

The Pribnow box was quiet aside from the beep of computers as they monitored the pilots and the simulation bodies they were in. "Don't you think these quiet days are the best?" Maya asked as she turned toward the other two women in the room.

"Perhaps," Ritsuko Akagi allowed to her younger assistant. "But," She smirked. "I think some may be of the belief that routine is overrated."

"I was going to go with boring." Misato replied as she spun about her own chair, opting to sit in in backwards as she watched the two scientists work instead of displaying any of the decorum one might expect from one of the senior command staff of the most powerful organization on earth.

"But we're almost done with getting Unit 2 ready for deployment." Maya replied. "That has to mean something."

"Yes," Misato replied. "It means I'm-" The rest of her sentence was cut off as Maya interrupted.

"We just lost the cameras in the Eva bays." She announced, even as the blonde doctor came up beside her, hand on the back of assistant's chair.

"Malfunction?" She asked, her tone concise and professional.

"Doesn't look like it ma'am," All three women looked up as Aoba's voice came over the phones speaker. "The interference is coming from the camera's themselves."

Any further discussion was cut off as alarms blared followed by commentary from Aoba, voice surprisingly level despite the sudden shift in events. "Unit one's gone berserk!"

"No it hasn't." Akagi interjected as she brought up a screen on her own terminal next to Maya's. "It's more controlled; in fact it looks more like it's being piloted-"

"Piloted by whom?" A gruff voice asked in a tone more akin to a command then a question as Commander Ikari's face, the control room in the background, filled up a screen.

"No one apparently," The doctor replied and continued before the next obvious question posed itself. "And I have no idea how that is possible." Around her the screens that had been showing warnings were replaced by a timer as the countdown for the evangelion's internal batteries started.

"Forget how it happened for now." Misato replied having taken a standing position behind the two researchers allowing her to observe the status of multiple screens. "What's the status of the maintenance staff?"

"They evacuated when the alarms sounded ma'am." A new voice replied Hyuga joined in the voices feeding information to the.

"Enough, what is the status of the Unit?" Gendo Ikari asked even as he keyed something shutting down the audible alarms.

"No damage yet and the restraints are holding …" Akagi paused a second as she found the appropriate screen before continuing her reply to the commander. "The pilots are still in the simulation bodies and unharmed."

"Is it an angel?" Misato asked as she watched the countdown ticked down.

"No- no code blue, it's not an angel." Akagi replied even has a new set of alarms started blaring. "All telemetry from the evangelion is gone- the battery should be running out… now." The doctor sighed as the alarms continued to blare.

"Primary head restraint has been disabled – left six and right five are now sending error messages, status unknown!" Aoba announced, panic leaking into voice at the unexpected turn of events.

It was then that the entire building, perhaps even the complex shook. "What... was that?" Misato asked wearily, even as the others received an answer in quick order.

"The restraints were meant to hold out against an eva only for as long as it had battery power and we passed that point already." Akagi announced. "The restraints will never hold against something like this- they were never meant to." She added, heading off the obvious inquiries.

This point was true; the system of restraints around the evangelion could withstand its sheer brute power, but only for so long. Even as the doctor spoke the metal beams twisted and tore like paper as the invisible force pushed out from the evangelion's skin. Massive purple hands tore the empty gantry in front of it out of its frame sending it crashing into the shrinking pool of LCL that surrounded the machine.

"All restraints are reading as destroyed." Akagi announced. "Unit one is now most likely free from its restraints."

"Activate the Bakelite!" Misato ordered.

"No" Gendo countermanded "It would take too long and we cannot have the unit threaten the others – Incapacitate it with the defenses, Unit one is now a target." Gendo looked impassive as ever from behind his steepled fingers as he gave the order. "Now"

Across the ceiling of the cage turrets revealed themselves and trained upon purple machine before firing in concert – and splashing harmlessly against the unit's AT field.

"AT Field detected from Unit 1!" Hyuga announced providing news of what could not be seen.

Akagi looked up startled. "There's no pilot- how's that even possible?"

"Second AT field detected… Inside unit one!" the bridge officer closet to Akagi announced.

"NOW Is it an angel?" Misato snapped, getting a negative reply just as quickly.

Inside unit one, now finally staggering back from the unrelenting assault of computer controlled fire, was an entry plug. It was left inside the evangelion as a precaution against the normal insertion systems failing and it now, on its own accord, rocketed out as explosives blew away the neck plating covering the location of the plug. The computer dutifully ignored the projectile- as it was not unit one.

Unit one then went silent.

Everyone on the bridge went silent as the computer deactivated the turrets. "Anyone care to explain what just occurred?" Gendo asked as he looked over the bridge from his seat.

"I would if I knew sir." Misato replied.

Beep

Everyone looked up at that single sound.

Beep

"Sir…" Maya started tentatively. "We're detecting life signs inside unit one's entry plug."

Beep

"Call section 2 tell them to get a security team ready." Gendo rose from his chair. "Major Katsuragi, take command in the command center - you are in charge from here. I will be heading to the hangers."

It took only a few minutes for commander Ikari to emerge from the lift onto a gantry overlooking the main work floor. The assault team had already surrounded the entry plug; which had, aside from the life signs, remained silent since its ejection. Gendo motioned to one of the armored agents. "Open it."

The agent opened the plug and along with orange LCL out came a middle aged woman. Few of the agents visibly reacted to this, but many looked toward their commander as he froze on the gantry- hands tightening around the railing.

Across the distance few could see this reaction. But contrary to popular belief Gendo Ikari was, in fact, human. So it should have been no surprise that he would have reacted to who came falling out the entry plug unconscious. But like his reactions the distance between the commander and the team below muted his words even a medical team was waved forward.

"Yui?"


	2. Chapter 1: Beach Episode

"_Reminds me of those scenes in movies where the pull out the doomsday machines power core". _Ryoji Kaji mused as he gingerly pulled his chosen cylinder out from its compatriots, fog rolling out of the machine and across the room's metal floor as whatever kept the cylinders cool turned to gas. _"But I believe the Ural's power room is farther aft…" _He continues to himself as he removes what we came for from the cylinder. It was a little bigger then business card with its casing, or contents, tinged orange. The item inside the case seems to look like a normal, if ornate, key - if you replaced the shaft of the key with what looked like nerve endings.

The IPEA agent took great care in placing his prize in the specially designed suitcase his employer had given him for the task. He was just about to close the case's lid when his phone rang, the electronics ringtone sounding far louder in the quiet room. Kaji looked at the devices' display as he pulled it out_ "Speak of the devil..." _He thought as he answered, lodging the phone between his head and shoulder as he went about finishing his task. "Mr. Lorenz" He answered. "How can I help you?"

"I was wondering when you we're going to tell us Ikari ordered you to Russia." The SEELE chairmen replied without introduction. "I find that we only found about your movement through other sources worrying Mr. Kaji."

The agent for his part just continued closing the case with a snap as he locked the things clasps as he replied. "He just wanted me to do an inspection of the base that's all." He paused as if in thought. "Really I'm wondering why he sent me out here in the first place."

There was a pause on the other end before the man's gravelly voice came back. "The council wants you back in Tokyo as soon as possible, you have your job."

"Of course." The agent replied as he. "I also did the other task you asked for." He added as a low and distant rumble spread throughout the ship.

"And you will be duly rewarded." The councilman replied before the line went dead, but it was not a state that would last long as Kaji's ringtone once again violated the silence that presided over the room.

"Hello." Kaji replied again to this new caller, and once again not getting an introduction in reply before the voice on the other end started the conversation in the crisp concise tones the agent was use to from the man.

"You let the third angel loose." The man on the other end accused, justly so if the feed from the command center that was being fed to Kaji's earpiece was anything to go by.

"I'm afraid so Mr. Ikari but SEELE requested me to do so if I ever had the chance. I'd rather not let them get suspicious by not doing so." Kaji paused as he slid the cylinders back into the freezer. "Beside it seems the problem child has it covered." Kaji couldn't help but grin as he heard the girl singing over the feed. "Beside I never did like keeping it here."

"That's not up to you to decide." Gendo Ikari chided. "Does SEELE know why I sent you here?"

"Not at all." The younger man replied as he picked the case up and headed toward the rooms door. "They believe I'm here for an IPEA inspection and that's all- now if I can go?"

"Ensure you escape safely." The commander replied. "The IPEA cannot know about this theft."

"Hence the angel getting loose." Kaji replied. "I'm sure that's going to create a big enough mess to hide this." The only reply the agent received was the line going dead.

The feed in his ears let him keep appraise of how well the base was dealing with the angel- and they we're going as well he expected while waiting for unit 5 to reach the angel. Well, he grinned as he heard the pilots singing come over the feed again, at least she is having fun he thought.

"A comedy tonight! Nothing with gods, nothing with fate; Weighty affairs will just have to wait!" The girl's choice of lyrics merely reinforced his early thought about how she was taking it.

"Heh- stripped to a skeleton and it can still cause so much damage." He mused aloud as he watched the centers screens showing the rampage of the third angel.

It seems the commander center had an open mic as the singing stopped before the pilot addressed the agent. "Kaji! I didn't know you we're here."

Kaji shrugged despite the fact that the pilot likely couldn't see him "Sorry Mari I was just stopping by to inspect the place and it seems I'm going to have to give it a low score on security. I was actually just about to leave."

"A'www" The English pilot complained. "You're going to miss the best part!"

Kaji shrugged again. "Not one for comedies I'm afraid."

His comment got a glare from one of the Russian command staff. "You think this is a comedy?!" They demanded.

"Only if she doesn't die." The inspector replied before turning to take his leave.

"Reminds me of those scenes in movies where the pull out the doomsday machines power core". Ryoji Kaji mused as he gingerly pulled his chosen cylinder out from its compatriots, fog rolling out of the machine and across the room's metal floor as whatever kept the cylinders cool turned to gas. "But I believe the Ural's power room is farther aft…" He continued to himself as he removed what we came for from the cylinder. It was a little bigger then business card with its casing, or contents, tinged orange. The item inside the case seems to look like a normal, if ornate, key - if you replaced the shaft of the key with what looked like nerve endings.

The IPEA agent took great care in placing his prize in the specially designed suitcase his employer had given him for the task. He was just about to close the case's lid when his phone rang, the electronics ringtone sounding far louder in the quiet room. Kaji looked at the devices' display as he pulled it out "Speak of the devil..." He thought as he answered, lodging the phone between his head and shoulder as he went about finishing his task. "Mr. Lorenz" He answered. "How can I help you?"

"I was wondering when you we're going to tell us Ikari ordered you to Russia." The SEELE chairmen replied without introduction. "I find that we only found about your movement through other sources worrying, Mr. Kaji."

The agent for his part just continued closing the case with a snap as he locked the cases clasps as he replied. "He just wanted me to do an inspection of the base, that's all." He paused as if in thought. "Really, I'm wondering why he sent me out here in the first place."

There was a pause on the other end before the man's gravelly voice came back. "The council wants you back in Tokyo as soon as possible, you have your job."

"Of course." The agent replied as he. "I also took care of that other matter, as requested." He added as a low and distant rumble spread throughout the ship.

"And you will be duly rewarded." The councilman replied before the line went dead, but it was not a state that would last long as Kaji's ringtone once again violated the silence that presided over the room.

"Hello." Kaji replied again to this new caller, and once again not getting an introduction in reply before the voice on the other end started the conversation in the crisp concise tones the agent was use to from the man.

"You let the third angel loose." The man on the other end accused, justly so if the feed from the command center that was being fed to Kaji's earpiece was anything to go by.

"I'm afraid so Ikari, but SEELE requested me to do so if I ever had the chance. I'd rather not let them get suspicious by not taking the chance." Kaji paused as he slid the cylinders back into the freezer. "Beside it seems the problem child has it covered." Kaji couldn't help but grin as he heard the girl singing over the feed. "Besides, I never did like keeping it here."

"That's not up to you to decide." Gendo Ikari chided. "Does SEELE know why I sent you here?"

"Not at all." The younger man replied as he picked the case up and headed toward the rooms door. "They believe I'm here for an IPEA inspection and that's all- now if I can go?"

"Ensure you escape safely." The commander replied. "The IPEA cannot know about this theft."

"Hence the angel getting loose." Kaji replied. "I'm sure that's going to create a big enough mess to hide this." The only reply the agent received was the line going dead.

The feed in his ears let him keep appraise of how well the base was dealing with the angel- and they we're going as well he expected while waiting for unit 5 to reach the angel. Well, he grinned as he heard the pilots singing come over the feed again, at least she is having fun he thought.

"A comedy tonight! Nothing with gods, nothing with fate; Weighty affairs will just have to wait!" The girl's choice of lyrics merely reinforced his early thought about how she was taking it he mused as he entered the control room.

"Heh- stripped to a skeleton and it can still cause so much damage." He mused aloud as he watched the centers screens showing the rampage of the third angel.

It seems the command center had an open mic as the singing stopped before the pilot addressed the agent. "Kaji! I didn't know you we're here."

Kaji shrugged despite the fact that the pilot likely couldn't see him "Sorry Mari I was just stopping by to inspect the place and it seems I'm going to have to give it a low score on security. I was actually just about to leave."

"A'www" The English pilot complained. "You're going to miss the best part!"

Kaji shrugged again. "Not one for comedies I'm afraid."

His comment got a glare from one of the Russian command staff. "You think this is a comedy?!" They demanded.

"Only if she doesn't die." The inspector replied before turning to take his leave.

Death was far from Mari's mind has she guided unit five through the tunnels of Bethany base. The multi-legged machine race down passages that could only be described as narrow for it even if they were positively spacious for a regiments worth of armor. A regiment that sounded like it was doing absolutely nothing to stop an angel that had for all purposes been filleted by the Russians.

"No recitations to recite; open up the curtain: Comedy Tonight!" Mari continued to sing as the Eva turned down an even narrower passage - the legs kicking up sparks as they rode up the walls. The pilots face lit up like a child receiving an early Christmas as the angel appeared before her. "And there it is! Deploying field. – good thing, since I have no idea what a recitation is anyway." Actions followed words as the lance that made up one of the machines arms lunged forward followed by the rest of the Eva.

The skeletal angel flowed around the lance like a snake and past the green and silver machine in a burst of speed that shocked Mari. "Damn it!" Unit five, despite its many legs, could hardly stop and change directions on a dime. "Man this thing is stiff." She remarked as she worked the controls furiously even as the entire Eva jostled and rocked as it slammed into the ground and wall, concrete and steel flying as the machine bit into the floor. "Looks like I'm going to have to this the hard way." She yelled as she activated the rocket boosters, sending the behemoth machine flying at the angel as it centered itself under the access shaft to the surface. "No you don't!" It wasn't much as war cries go, but there was a lack of precedent for body slamming a giant skeleton of an alien. What Mari did not expect was the aforementioned skeleton to ignore her giant robot and continued up the shaft – with her clinging to it.

"God damn it!" she yelled in frustration as both alien and machine cleared into the sickly light of a polar twilight. "I said stop!" Her lance lunged forward again, hitting the mark this time as it pinned the angel one of the dozen of pillars holding the platform up. The angel immediately started thrashing about in an attempt to get free its screeches being heard unaided even from the inside of the Eva.

A lance of energy seared her machines left side. "That would really hurt-" She said through gritted teeth, as she held her left arm, blisters showing as damage transferred from the synchronization process. "If this wasn't so much fun!" One of unit five's other arms grabbed the angel's exposed core in its vice like claw and applied pressure.

A warning flashed at the corner of her eye as a timer flashed. "Running out of time. I've got to make this snappy!" Even as vibrations run from the controls and into her arm. "Maybe if the arms had been properly synced this damn thing wouldn't be falling apart on me!" Another lance of energy from the angel severed off a majority of the provisional unit's legs. "You want it that badly? Fine!" Mari hissed as she forced her injured arm to the controls even as the other vice like claw came forward. "Take it!" A second vice joined its sister on the angel's core. Sparks erupted along with gouts of steam and pieces of armor as the machine's pilot forced it to its limits "Just...fucking ...Die!"

It happened in an instant as the angel's core cracked and blood-red fluid erupted, flowing over the evangelion as its entry plug and the pilot within ejected with in a rocket propelled cradle. The plane like escape pod narrowly avoiding the nuclear like explosion that enveloped evangelion, angel and the entire base. The shock wave washed over the command ship as the entry plug touched down in the water safely out of blast zone.

With a hiss the pod opened as bobbed like cock in the ocean waves. "That was brutal, they never said synchronization was going to be like that." The full visor helmet fell to the ground as the brunette pilot stood up, looking up and the double crosses of energy left by the battle. "But I'm alive so I guess it's all good. Still I feel sorry for using the adults like this…. Oh well – bon voyage provisional Unit 5"

"Look at that! Super Hornets! I think those are conformal fuel tanks – that makes them that new advanced variant, and their sitting next Mig-29Ks… and is that an Antonov 5011 Ziz? That must be what carries the evangelion around! We're taxing towards it!" Toji Suzuhara sighed as he glared as the bespectacled nerd he called a friend continued to gush over the veritable buffet that had been laid before their windows since they landed on the tiny atoll of midway after a five hour flight.

"Did we have to bring him along?" Toji asked, his question directed toward the reason he and Kensuke were on a NERV chartered private jet.

Shinji Ikari looked away from his own window, he had been looking at the assembled military might with far less fuss then Kensuke had been before turning toward the most athletic of the assembled. "Well Katsuragi said I should bring friends, and I didn't know who else would want to come." He explained.

Toji realized something then, while he was wearing T-shirt and jeans and Kensuke was wearing some sort of buttoned shirt with cargo pants to hold various items for his camera, Shinji was wearing the slacks and white shirt not much different from his school attire – did NERV set a wardrobe he was allowed or something? "Ok I get that. But did'ya have to bring him?" He pointed toward Kensuke who was still giving a running commentary on a battleship that was docked nearby and how it was named after the one in Pearl Harbor – really the only interesting thing was the bit about rail guns – but then again his friend piloted a giant robot so it didn't seem that far-fetched.

"Well, he could have asked your girlfriend to come." Kensuke replied, as he turned his attention to his classmate who was, once again, making a mockery of his interests.

"Hikari is not my girlfriend!" Toji bit back and Kensuke just grinned at the boy's predictable response even as Shinji winced from sudden spike the volume of the conversation.

"I never gave names." Kensuke replied, making 'tsking' sounds like a villain lecturing a fallen hero in a cartoon. "But look, you're even on a first name basis with her – no wonder she asked you to get her a souvenir."

Toji's reply was less than eloquent as his mouth opened and closed like a gasping fish as he grasped for a reply. "She just wanted something when she heard Shinji asking if I wanted to come. Shinji's here on NERV business...stuff, and she wasn't going to ask him to get her something." Toji sighed. "Where am I supposed to get something like that anyway? I'm on an American Military base."

"You could try the base exchange." Shinji offered causing both of his friends to turn toward him.

"The what?" Toji replied even has Kensuke gave an equally confused reply – though for different reasons.

"How do you know what the Americans call their base stores?" He asked, his attention fully pulled from the view outside the plane as it came slowly to a stop.

"Well, you see…" Shinji began to reply before the sound of the planes door being opened and they all turned as one to see Misato standing by the now open portal.

"Are you all going to sit in this plane all day, or are you going to come see the island?" Misato asked as the wind tugged at the edges of her jacket and tousled her hair.

"Well, it is air conditioned in here." Toji Replied, "I mean they even give us free soda."

Misato just glared at Toji before growing a smirk that even had Shinji worried.

"Wark!" All three boys nearly leapt out of their seats at Pen-Pen landing on the table in the middle of their seats.

Toji pointed an accusing finger at the bird's owner. "That's not funny!"

"No." Misato agreed. "It was hilarious. Now come on – or is the first person the base greets from the plane going to be the warm water penguin?" She asked even as Pen-Pen started for the open door, causing all three boys to finally start to disembark, lest they let the bird actually beat them.

Misato simply stepped out into the afternoon sun as the expected knot of officers stood at the base of the mobile stair case waiting to welcome them. At the front of the group was a man in the familiar khaki and white uniform of NERV officers, the colors a contrast with her own red hued uniform but she preferred the beret over the more traditional combination cover. Unlike the bridge crew back in Tokyo-3 though this man's insignia was not a simple silver bar, but a single silver star.

She gave a crisp salute as she approached, greeting the senior officer in English. "Afternoon General Forestall."

The reply back came in Japanese "A pleasure Colonel, but I believe my Japanese is better than your English – unless you wish to converse in German?"

"I spent far more time in Germany then I did in the U.S, sir." Misato offered as she slipped back into her native tongue.

"Kyoko unfortunately said I never had the gift for her mother's language." Forestall replied with a sad shrug. "We can stick with Japanese. It been awhile since we last spoke directly hasn't it?"

Misato began to relax relaxing now that the formalities had been dealt with. "Three years, at your wedding in San Diego." She replied, "I was back in Berlin working with the pilot training program after that." He was as tall as she remembered, two heads taller than her at least, which meant he still looked as slender as a reed. From what Misato could see though the last three years seemed to have had no noticeable effect on the man. Though she supposed once you got to be as old as the Director, the changes were not so noticeable – though she suspected the salt and pepper hair she remembered from the wedding was now more salt then pepper.

"I see – I had thought you'd have visited systems integration on Coronado more often." Forestall mused. "I'm surprised you were able to come out here on such short notice though –We only landed here after the Ziz's cargo systems threw up a fault after going through a storm. Can't troubleshoot it in flight because we have to lower the Eva down, and we had to break out the hydraulic lifts to even to even do that... " The general paused as his gaze fixed on something behind Misato. Misato turned her own gaze around to see the trio of boys were now gawking at the airfield around them, at the planes and even as a guard that approached to politely tell Kensuke to not take pictures. "Shinji Ikari?"

"Yes." Misato replied, "The Third Child and son of Director Ikari. I thought it would be good for him to meet Sohryu."

"Meet?" Forestall asked, "But…" He was caught off as another man, in full khakis, around the same age as the general. But while both he and the general seemed of similar age the newcomer was built like a mountain compared to the reedy proportions of Forestall.

"General – are you going to keep Tokyo-3's rep all to yourself or are we going to be introduced?" He asked in English as he gave a perfunctory salute while Misato noted his uniform belonged not to NERV but to the owners of the base – the American navy.

"Colonel Katsuragi, Captain Fletcher – USS Arizona." Forestall introduced switching back to his native language. "His battle group is providing extra security around the island while his flagship is providing the power supply we need to do a ground test of unit two's systems"

"I have Eggheads all over my ship is what I have." Fletcher replied. "No offense Colonel."

"None taken." Misato replied diplomatically. "I thank you for understanding of the situation."

The Captain waved her off. "Small price to pay to make sure your giant robot can fight if those aliens decide to stop your fortress city from getting reinforcements. As for the general here," He pointed a meaty thumb back toward Forestall. "– I knew him back in Annapolis. Good man, even if he did defect over to you lot in Tokyo. You'll be well off having him as your head of logistics – just don't give him too much work to do."

"Her last battle plan required the requisition of an experimental energy cannon from the SDF, wholesale excavation of a mountain and diverting the power supply of Japan." Forestall replied dryly as he gestured to Misato. "Lack of work is the least of my worries."

The captain gave Misato a thoughtful look for a moment. "I like her style." He announced with a chuckle. "Maybe I won't be so harsh on those NERV eggheads- assuming they don't do anything stupid. Well, best get back to work – a pleasure meeting you Colonel."

"An interesting character." Misato said as she watched the man walk off.

"That could be considered an understatement." Forestall replied. "Speaking of work – where did your pilot walk off to?"

Closer to the flying wing that was the Ziz, Shinji and his friends watched as the veritable forest of hydraulic jacks set about doing their job of lowering the evangelion from its carriage. As they had approached closer to the work, a single voice had risen noticeably over the rest – one that reminded Toji of when Hikari was in full-on 'class rep mode' and giving orders.

The source of the orders was a girl no older than themselves, long red hair falling down her back and contrasting with the pale yellow of the sun dress she wore. Though rather incongruously a hard-hat adorned her head where one would expect a broad-brimmed hat.

Kensuke and Toji turned as Shinji cleared his throat and momentarily fidgeted. Finally after a moment he spoke loud enough to be heard over the work site noise. The words causing the other two boys to quirk and eyebrow in near unison. "Uh... Hi, Asuka."

The redhead paused almost mid-shout, slowly turning to look in their direction. Her gaze narrowed momentarily before she started toward them purposefully, stopping a few steps from Shinji. She studied him for a moment, like a stern teacher studying her students, arms crossed until her stern expression melted into a small smirk. "It's been a while, Shinji."

Kensuke stared at the girl for a moment before turning to Kensuke. "See, I told you that you should have brought Hikari - even Shinji brought his girlfriend."

The red head whirled on them, any hint of a smile gone. "You two idiots – I've seen the video logs. Deciding to make a YouTube video during a goddamn fight with an alien the size of a building!" Asuka continued to scold the boys as she approached close enough to jab a finger at Toji's chest. "Are your parents aware that you have a mental disorder, or have you been keeping that a secret?"

"No!" Toji replied before hastily adding more to his reply to avoid falling into the verbal trap. "I mean … Who the hell you are?!"

Asuka arched an eyebrow at the question. "Me?" She asked in a clearly rhetorical tone. "I am Asuka Langley Sohryu – Captain in the NERV Special Duty Organization of the United Nations and pilot of Evangelion Unit 2." She announced throwing a hand back like a presenter toward the massive red bulk still being lowered to the ground. "So the real question then for you two idiots," She replied smugly. "Is not who am I, but who the hell are you?"

"Asuka…" Shinji said, exasperation clear in his voice at how the first interaction between his small circle of friends was going. Though he failed to say anything else as the red head turned on him.

"And you!" She admonished. "I'll give you the first mission, but the next one? You blinded yourself with smoke from your own gun! You have no excuses! And then with that positron cannon – you missed! The entire power output of Japan and you miss!"

"Umm… I did kill them in the end though." Shinji replied in a limp attempt to save himself from the unexpected assault.

"Yes." Asuka replied, her consent dripping in false concession. "At least you did that – not like any type of skill or intelligence was expected from your performance in a machine worth a small country."

"Lay off him!" Toji yelled, the need to defend his friend overriding any indignation from the earlier reprimand. "He's been doing the best he can!"

"Yeah… I mean it's not like this is a normal job." Kensuke rejoined. "And are you really a Captain? You can't be any older then us."

"Actually I wanted to know how you two know each other." Toji asked, pointing fingers at Shinji and Asuka. "If you knew some hot shot robot pilot – why did you get your ass kicked the first time?"

"Because he wasn't a pilot obviously." Asuka replied like she was correcting math problem. "He could hardly know how to pilot an Eva when he wasn't even allowed to see one. Though I should have suspected the institute would look at the Old Man's kids. As for how we know each other – Pen pals, at least initially." Asuka replied with a shrug.

"Wait… that's it?" Toji asked, incredulous.

"Yes." Asuka replied, now sounding like she was answering to a rather slow child. "Is that a problem?"

"Yes!" Toji replied, throwing his hands up in the air. "It doesn't explain anything!"

Toji got another nonchalant shrug from Asuka for his troubles. "My father started it when I was little – I hardly remember how it started, let alone why. If my answer doesn't suit you I can't help you."

"Well it peaked my curiosity." The quartet of students turned to see Misato approaching the group, Forrestal a few steps behind.

"I was trying to tell you – Shinji and Asuka already know each other, we don't need to bother introducing them to each other." Forestall explained. "Actually I'm more surprised that you didn't know."

"Shinji here never mentioned he had a girlfriend." Misato replied with a grin as she glanced at the specified pilot, who was already turning red and stammering replies along with Asuka.

"I...We… Were just friends!" Shinji defended, fidgeting as he became increasing conscious of the total lack of cover in the middle of the airfield.

"Well it should have been in Shinji's report." Forestall commented as eyed Misato, whose turn it was to become embarrassed. "You did read the report right?"

Misato chuckled lightly as she scratched the back of her head. "I may have… skimmed it." She admitted, as Forestall gave a pointed glance. ""Oh, come on! I had college text books shorter then that file! How on earth did you get that much on a fourteen year old? Did you include his entire genome or something?"

"Not quite." Forestall replied. "But it's hardly a feat considering his father. Now having such a file on the commander would be a different story."

"He would shoot you." Misato replied in jest, which kept Shinji and company from being too perturbed by the comment. "Then he would shoot whoever gave out his information. I don't know if he's paranoid or reasonable."

""Why can't he be both?" Forestall replied with a solemnity that chased away their sense of ease.

"Shinji's old man… wouldn't actually shoot anyone would he?" Toji asked hesitantly as he glanced between the two adults.

"No he wouldn't - And he really wouldn't need to. He's the head of one of the most powerful organizations on the planet. He has all sorts of ways to make your life miserable. Which sets aside the fact that being able to make such a file on the commander means NERV as a whole would have larger issues." Misato replied before switching the topics to head off her assurances from being undermined – no need to have the kids think NERV was some sort of conspiratorial cabal. Her chosen topic was brought to everyone's attention as a deep rumble sounded over the airfield from the massive plane holding the equally massive evangelion. "But people spying on the Commander is the Commanders problem. Let's just make sure they didn't manage to break the Eva."

"What's wrong with the Eva?" Kensuke asked as he glanced behind the group as the machine was winched out from under the massive flying wing.

"Technically?" Misato replied. "Probably Nothing. The plane somehow managed to take a lightning strike to the cargo control systems when they flew through that thunder storm."

"What's a lightning strike going to do to a giant robot anyway?" Toji asked.

"Not a whole lot most likely. But let's not gamble with the multi-billion dollar war machine." Misato replied before turning to the machine in question.

"The Accountants don't mind the robot wrecking everything when it's busy beating the crap out of an angel - Do something stupid and break the giant robot though, and then they have a problem." Forestall added eyeing the steady progress of the Eva behind the group as it inched its way across the tarmac and as more machinery approach the Eva - including what looked like a mobile scaffold. "We should be ready for the field test soon enough - The command post should have everything waiting for you already Asuka. As for the rest of you, I think they can find room for the Pilot of Unit 01 and his friends. Nothing you haven't seen before Shinji, but you could probably explain the whole thing better I could."

The response from an elated Kensuke was nearly instant. "Wait - we can watch the test? Your not going to lock us in a room or anything?" As soon as Forestall shook his head he grabbed Shinji who yelped as he proceed to be dragged off. "To the command post!"

"The command post is that way idiot." Asuka corrected as she watched the military otaku shift toward the indicated direction.

"I knew that!" Kensuke replied, the idea of being able to see the startup of a real giant robot proving an effective shield against the admonishment.

"I'm glad someone can be excited about this." Forestall mused as he watched the group walk off. "But once you've seen one robot..."

"You've seen them all." Misato finished. "Have you actually been having them write to each other?"

Forestall glanced at the colonel. "If you had read the report you would know this."

Misato gave a sigh at the reply. "I'm not living that down, am I?" Both officers paused their approach to the Eva as its journey came to a stop and watched as men began preparing the reclined machine to be brought to a kneeling position.

"No" Forestall replied with a monosyllabic "As for your other question..." he shrugged "It's a bit of a story." He continued, watching as crews rigged lines to pull the Eva up with detached interest. "Started it when she was five - that's a lot of ground to cover."

"Five." Misato muttered as something fitted together in her mind. "2006 - that's after the contact experiments..."

"Well after - about a year." Forestall corrected. "The idea, at first, was to help Asuka through the aftermath of the experiment. But it took time to find the contact information for the commander's son; even I couldn't find that sort of information easily. The situation by then had..." Forestall trailed off as he looked up at the Eva, now starting to tower above the pair before settling on a word. "Escalated. I realized that the only thing I could give was time and an environment where she could be happy. I went through a world war, only to learn it wasn't over with Kyoko's death - I wasn't going to lose my daughter as well to ... this."

"You said 'at first'," Misato questioned. "If you realized it wasn't going to help - why'd you still start it?"

"The short version?" Forestall asked. "Asuka is too smart. She was in middle school courses by the age of five and currently has a college degree. It not a bad thing, it's just-"

"It makes it hard to have friends?" Misato finished with a guess.

"Yes - hard thing to do when everyone around you is three times your age." Forestall replied. "I think I knew it worked when she demanded to learn the Violin after Shinji told her how he was learning the Cello." He gave a smile at a memory.

"So I guess that mean section two's plan to put her in class 2-A with the other pilots works for you?" Misato asked as a final industrial groan echoed over the tarmac as the Eva was lifted into place, power supply from the American battleship plugged into the machines back.

"Wait, Soryu's going to be in our class?" Both adults turned to see Asuka had returned, now in a plugsuit the same red as her machine, a darker red windbreaker offering some protection from the ocean breeze. They also noted that the boys had followed her back out to the Eva as Toji continued to talk. "Oh man Shinji - every guy in class is going to hate you."

"More like pity me." Shinji replied as he turned toward Forestall. "ah... Sorry Aida wanted to see how the pilots actually get in the Eva..."

"Which I don't understand - we've been in one before when you saved us in the middle of that fight." Toji replied.

"But that was during an emergency! This is an actual proper boarding and boot up sequence!" Kensuke argued.

Toji stared at his Mecha obsessed friend. "Right."

Further discussion on the matter was brought to a close as an explosion thundered across the island shortly before klaxons blared. "What the Hell?" Forestall muttered before looking at the assembled group, preempting Misato only by a syllable. "Asuka get in the Eva - Misato get everyone to the command center!"

Misato turned toward the children, the relaxed demeanor from the plane this morning gone. "You heard him! Move!" She barked even as she heard the boys toward the command center. Another explosion from above caused everyone to look up - and immediately scatter as they saw pieces of a warship, turret included, and flying toward them.

The flaming piece of machinery, ammunition already cooking off in the fire that engulfed it, crashed into the ground and cartwheeled through where the group was previously standing spreading fire and chaos as it went.

Asuka helped Shinji to his feet as he looked over at the wall of flames. "Where did everyone else go?"

Asuka looked at him before pointing to the flames. "Where do you think? Now come on - we're still on the same side as the Eva."

"Wait your expecting both of us to get in?!" Shinji asked.

"Ok" Asuka decided. "Just stay out here with the angel - you should be fine."

Shinji watched as the red head started up the scaffold to board her machine. "Asuka wait for me!" The boy yelled as he scrambled after her.

Atop the angel Asuka watched as he climbed up next to the now open plug. "Nice for you to join us - now get in." A splash echoed out of the cylinder as the boy found himself in a familiar orange fluid. "Don't touch anything." Asuka admonished as she situated herself into her seat. Flipping switched normally unused to cause the plug to close and drop into the Evangelion even as a radio crackled to life.

"This is Unit 2- now beginning emergency launch!"


End file.
